Ekho

The Ekho wine project is based on the desire to give a voice to old vineyards in historic wine-growing areas of Greece, with their indigenous varieties and ancient winemaking traditions. Founder of the project is Lefteris Anagnostou, a Greek oenologist with long wine experience on the island of Santorini, who in 2020 decided to embark on this adventure across the Aegean Sea. First stops were the island of Lemnos, located in the North Aegean Sea, and Naxos, one of the largest islands of the Cyclades, where Lefteris collaborated with Konstantinos Makridimitris, a producer and owner of a local wine shop. The grapes come from trusted local winegrowers who cultivate individual plots of extraordinary quality, often representing striking cases of heroic viticulture, evidence of ancient traditions that Lefteris intends to recover. The very name 'Ekho', a Greek word for 'echo', expresses the desire to reflect and propagate the essence of the territory.

The varieties processed by Lefteris Anagnostou under the Ekho project are all indigenous, some better known and others less so, including Limnio, Fokiano, Mandilaria and Bastardiko among the red grapes, and Potamisi, Aidani, Tzemeri and Karaibraim among the white grapes. The vines, bush-trained and often planted free-range, range in age from 50 to over 150 years, rooted on ancient terraces formed by clayey or sandy soils of volcanic origin. The climate is insular Mediterranean, the altitudes are sometimes quite high, with peaks touching 600 metres above sea level, while grape yields per vine are very low. The winemaking approach involves spontaneous fermentation and the use of different types of wine containers, such as stainless steel tanks, oak barriques of several passages and acacia barrels.

Under the Ekho project, a very limited production is created that is striking for its original and highly expressive character, reflecting an ancestral winemaking identity. These wines are endowed with a pronounced savouriness and enveloping aromas that hark back to their Mediterranean origins.